The top official with the Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts Unit said Tuesday there is nothing wrong with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests's plan to modify a conservation easement to help the developer of the Balsams resort.

The change "does not propose or threaten a change of overall purpose," Thomas J. Donovan, the director of Charitable Trusts, wrote in a 12-page letter.

The developers hoping to reopen the Balsams Resort got a boost Wednesday night as the Coos Planning Board approved a long-range concept plan.

While it is called a concept plan, it includes many details of what developers Dixville Capital hope to accomplish. That includes a huge expansion of the ski resort and as many as 4,600 housing units, including condominiums and a hotel.

The issue of whether the Coos County Planning Board is moving quickly enough as it considers the renovation of the shuttered Balsams resort came up Wednesday night in Colebrook and in contrast to the board's normal, civil demeanor there were sharp and angry words.

More details on the proposed redevelopment of the Balsams Resort in the North Country are available as developers seek a zoning change in the North Country.

The new Balsams resort would start with 4,600 “dwelling units” ranging from hotel rooms to condos.

Its core would be called the Balsams Lake Village and would be anchored around the historic Dix and Hampshire houses, which would be “largely preserved.” The village would include shops and restaurants.

A bill that opens the door to a state-backed loan to the developer of the Balsams Resort got a big boost Thursday when the House of Representatives Finance Committee unanimously voted it ought to pass. That allows it to go before the full House.

“I hope the House will see it as the great economic development tool that the Finance Committee did,” said Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, a Democrat from Nashua, who is on the committee.

The bill allows the formation of a tax district in the unincorporated area around the closed Balsams Resort.

Those who want to revive the Balsams resort went before the House Finance Committee Tuesday arguing in favor of a $28 million state-backed loan for developer Les Otten. And to nobody’s surprise the hearing was packed with supporters...

Many came down from the North Country, thrilled with the possibility of a huge economic boost and supporters included Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, who represents the North Country.

“This project is so important to the North Country you couldn’t believe it.”

Withdrawing water from the Androscoggin River to provide snowmaking for the Balsams resort would adversely affect 15 hydro-electric facilities downstream, the Brookfield Renewable Energy Group says in a filing with the state’s Department of Environmental Services.

And, Brookfield can’t support the project unless there is a guarantee that the developers of the Balsams will compensate it for any lost revenues, according to a letter sent to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

In a move that would be good for the region’s wood-based economy Maine Energy Systems of Bethel, Maine plans to start building automated, wood-pellet boilers in the United States instead of importing them from Europe, says Les Otten, founder and chief executive officer.

“We will do the majority of the manufacture and assembly in the United States,” he told NHPR. “There is no reason we can’t be competitive globally.”